What type of pleasure is expressed by the ἀρεστός (+dat.) here? To my mind it is like a. "Yes, that's needed doing" nod of approval (which perhaps lead Herod to believe the Jews might be more easily governed), (rather than a relishing personal satisfaction type of pleasure). In effect then, the mal-treatment of Christians was a form of pork-barreling.Acts 12:1-3 wrote:Κατ’ ἐκεῖνον δὲ τὸν καιρὸν ἐπέβαλεν Ἡρῴδης ὁ βασιλεὺς τὰς χεῖρας κακῶσαί τινας τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς ἐκκλησίας.
2 Ἀνεῖλεν δὲ Ἰάκωβον τὸν ἀδελφὸν Ἰωάννου μαχαίρᾳ. 3 Καὶ ἰδὼν ὅτι ἀρεστόν ἐστιν τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις, προσέθετο συλλαβεῖν καὶ Πέτρον — ἦσαν δὲ αἱ ἡμέραι τῶν ἀζύμων —
If that is so, then in BDAG terms that means that in this instance ἀρεστός is related to ἀρέσκω (1).